


A Symbol of Balance

by glkrose



Category: Let's Play (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Light Angst, Sex, Smut, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:47:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26071363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glkrose/pseuds/glkrose
Summary: AU where Sam and Marshall share a soul mark, but she is devastated the her "perfect match" gave her game a terrible review.
Relationships: Marshall Law/Sam Young (Let's Play)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	A Symbol of Balance

**Author's Note:**

> Since I've been out of the fan fic game so long, there are new tropes to play with! This one doesn't truly fit the Let's Play universe, but I think I found a way to make it work? I'm nervous about this one.

_Everyone is born with a soul mark, a symbol that appears on your skin that matches you to the person you are meant to spend the rest of your life with. It doesn’t have to be romantic; some soul marks represent lifelong friendships. The soul marks are only visible to your partner until you accept that match. Then, they become visible to others._

Sam always looked at her mark, half of a yin yang, imagining who her person would be. A person who would love her despite her flaws of anxiety and social awkwardness. She felt comfort when thinking about the future, especially seeing how perfectly her parents were matched. Still, the search for her match didn’t consume her life. She knew they would find each other when the time was right.

Her life’s work became developing her own indie game. That was her true passion: to become a successful game developer. She spent hours working on her first game, Ruminate. She was so proud of it and excited to hear that a Viewtuber she admired greatly, Marshall Law, would be reviewing it.

She watched in horror as he played her game incorrectly thinking it was a fighting game, and ultimately trashing it. But what hurt most of all was that there was a moment when his wrist was in view, Sam noticed the other half of her yin yang.

“No, no, no, no!”

It was like a cruel joke. Yes, she had somewhat of a crush on him, but never expected that they would be matched. They were not in the same circles at all. What was the universe thinking? Especially now that he seemed to miss the point of her entire game.

Needing to get some air, she grabbed her dog Bowser’s leash and called out for him. Bowser rushed to her and sat down.

“That’s my good boy.” Sam gave him extra pats and walked to the door.

As she and Bowser stepped out of the apartment, all she saw was boxes. “Oh, I guess we have a new neighbor.”

“What the hell is happening?” she muttered under her breath. Her new neighbor was Marshall Law. The universe was clearly laughing at her misery at this point. Locking her door, she turned and started to walk toward the stairs.

“Hey! Is that one of my neighbors?”

Gritting her teeth, she turned and faced the man that is supposed to be her partner for life. Who also crushed her dreams. “Hi.”

“Oh, sorry. You’re busy with your dog. I’ll bug you later.”

Sam gave him a pointed look and wished she could just disappear.

The next day, she ran into him without Bowser.

“Hi, nice to officially meet you! I’m Marshall.”

“I know who you are.”

“Cool, a fan! How nice. What’s your name?”

“Sam.”

“Not very talkative, huh?”

“Not in the mood to talk to the man who trashed my game on Viewtube.”

Marshall’s face turned white. “What.”

“Hi, I’m Sam Young. I created Ruminate. Which you played wrong and criticized.”

“Played wrong?”

“It’s not a fighting game. It’s a puzzle game. And you would know that if you actually read the instructions. You played my game wrong, and now my reputation is tanked. But good job on getting all those views!” She angrily turned and walked away.

Marshall watched her with a frown and rubbed his chest.

Sam tried her hardest to avoid Marshall and not think about whatever connection they could have shared. She would just be alone forever. It’s not like she hadn’t been doing that for years already.

To forget about him and how his words hurt her, she spent most of her time working on her next project: a gaming app. She’ll show him that she doesn’t need him as a partner and that she was a good developer. Screw him.

She was glad that her best friend Angela called her to hang out. It was the perfect distraction: girl talk and coffee. Angela was also trying to cheer her up about the review.

“Sam, are you really okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Just putting in more work on my next project, that’s all.”

“Hm, alright.” She took a sip of her drink. “Hope you’re not agonizing over Marshall Law.”

“Nope. I barely think about him.” Her brain shouted at her.

“Uh, I have some news,” Angela started, and then Sam noticed the mark on her wrist.

“You found your match! Who is it? Do I know him?”

“You’re never going to believe this, but it’s Link!”

“Wow, that’s amazing!”

Sam was happy that two of her friends found each other, and she knew that they would be a formidable couple. She thought she had a crush on Link for a while, but it turned out they were better off as friends. And now he was Angela’s. A tightness started to grip her chest, and she wasn’t sure what that was about.

“Sam, you look like you’re in pain. What’s going on?”

She couldn’t ruin this happy time for her friend. “I just got a headache all of a sudden. I think I’m going to head home. I’ll call you later.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, no. It’s okay.” Sam gave Angela a big hug. “I’m so happy for you and Link. He’s such a great guy.”

Angela gave her a huge smile. “I know. Hopefully, you’ll find your match soon. It would be so much fun to double date.”

Sam gulped. “Yeah, that would be fun. Talk to you later.”

As she exited the coffee shop, she struggled to catch her breath. Why was she reacting this way? She pulled out her inhaler and took a few puffs. Once she settled down, she knew exactly what she needed to do.

Deciding to walk back to her apartment turned out to be a poor choice as it started raining heavily halfway there. With her previous health problems, this was likely going to regret it and be holed up in her room for a few days recovering. But she moved faster because she had a mission to accomplish.

Sam banged on Marshall’s door, not caring how loud she was. Her hair was dripping wet, and her clothes were completely soaked. Marshall opened the door and stared at her.

“Why you?!” she shouted at him.

“Why me what? Come inside, Sam.”

She twisted away so he couldn’t touch her. She pulled up her sleeve to show him her mark. Marshall’s eyes grew wide.

“Oh shit.”

“Why did it have to be you?!”

“Sam, please come inside. It’s cold, and you’re wet.”

She gave him a glare and pushed past him. He shut the door and followed her.

“The room with the light on is my office. I’m going to get you a towel.”

Sam entered his office and looked around. This is where he records his videos. Like the one… She was extremely angry and didn’t want to sit down. Marshall returned with a few towels.

“Here.” He handed her the pile, and she snatched them from him. “You can sit, you know.”

“I don’t want to,” she snapped, but she wrapped a towel around her.

“Okay, okay. Sam, I know you’re mad.” He sat down at his desk.

“Mad? No, Marshall, I’m furious. For years, I have searched for the other half of my mark believing it would belong to the person who knew me without hesitation, cared for me, loved me. Instead…”

“You got me,” he admitted in defeat.

“You humiliated me. You broke my heart when you criticized Ruminate as harshly as you did. It was my dream to be a video game developer, and you completely ruined it! And it was that video that I noticed your mark. Which made it hurt even more.”

Marshall winced. “You deserve someone better than me, that’s for damn sure. I can’t apologize to you enough, Sam. For everything. The video, our conversations since, even learning about our connection now. But…” He stood up and approached her. “I replayed Ruminate.”

“What? You did? Why?”

He sighed and pointed to the couch. “Please sit.” Sam reluctantly obliged.

“Things are now making more sense given our connection.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “As I was critiquing Ruminate the first time, there was a pain in my chest. I had never had any heart issues before and was able to ignore it. When I moved in and met you, my heart started racing. Again, just thought it was weird, and I did find you attractive, so I brushed it off again. When you confronted me about the review, it was like my heart was being torn into pieces. I freaked out and saw a doctor. He wasn’t able to find anything physically wrong with my heart. And he asked about my soul mark. I told him I hadn’t met my partner yet. He told me it was possibly linked and to think back to when the pain first started.”

“Ruminate,” she whispered.

“Yeah, and I’m an idiot for not putting two and two together. So, I went back and decided to play it correctly this time. Sam, the game is incredible. The world you created, the strategy behind everything, the NPCs, I have never been more wrong in my life. I understand what you meant when you confronted me. You deserve someone who would have gotten it right, someone who understood how much you put of yourself in the game the first time around.”

Tears fell from Sam’s eyes as she watched Marshall turn away from her. “Wait.” She grabbed his hand and stood up. He gave her a confused look before she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. “Thank you.”

Marshall was trying not to fall into pieces in her arms. He truly felt the bond between them now, and he didn’t want her to feel obligated to put up with him and all his issues. “I don’t…I don’t deserve your thanks. I wish all of this could have happened differently. I don’t deserve you.”

She pulled back and tilted her head. “No. I won’t let you say that. You replayed the game and admitted you were wrong. You recognize your errors and try to make them right. You see me now. That proves you are deserving…of me.” She kissed his cheek, and a fire ignited in him.

“Sam…”

“Shh…kiss me.” She gave him a look of pure desire, and he knew he always wanted to see her look at him that way. And saying no to her? Impossible. He looked at her again. It wasn’t just desire, there was hope reflected in her eyes as well. Marshall was definitely in need of some hope.

Leaning forward, he lightly pressed his lips against hers. Immediately, he felt the shift everyone told him about when they first kissed their match. The warmth, the belonging, everything was heightened as they kissed.

Sam had never imagined her first kiss would feel like this. Safe, warm, he really was hers. They continued to kiss, and she moaned as his tongue entwined with hers. She moved her hands into his hair. An ache began to throb between her legs. She needed him now.

Her hands roved across his chest, and she liked feeling his muscles under his shirt. Marshall took the opportunity to do his own exploring with his hands grabbing her ass. She gasped and moved closer to him, where she felt a hardness press against her. Grinding her hips into him, he groaned never breaking contact with her.

Marshall lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his body. He pushed her against the wall and started to focus on her neck. Sam slipped her hands under his shirt and was able to remove it. Her breathing became more ragged as he hastily removed her shirt and bra and fondled her breasts. His kisses trailed down to them, and he sucked on her nipples. At this point, she really began to lose herself.

“Marshall, I need…”

“Me too.”

Instead of continuing what they were doing in his office, he began walking toward his bedroom. “I’m not fucking you against a wall the first time,” he said with a sly grin and nipped her neck. “Or on that couch.”

When they reached his room, Marshall gently placed her on the bed and focused on getting his pants off. Sam watched him hungrily, and her eyes grew wide noticing how big his cock was. But she wasn’t scared, that was the last thing on her mind. This was all how things were supposed to go, but she could tell he was going to make sure she was ready for whatever. She slid off her skirt and underwear, ready for the next step.

They took in each other’s bodies before Marshall knelt on his bed and inched closer to her.

“I will stop the instant you tell me to,” he breathed before kissing her once again.

“I appreciate that,” she returned and spread her legs.

Another kiss, a grasp of their hands, and he finally entered her slowly. Sam cried out and quickly assured him she was okay. He brushed back her hair with a smile and started moving. Her body felt like pure fire, and she couldn’t get enough of him. Her hips moved in time with his, and he hit her deeper with each thrust. They kept their eyes on each other the whole time. Marshall was so gentle, and Sam lost herself in him. A wave of pleasure began rippling through her body, a sensation so strong she finally had to close her eyes.

“Marshall,” she moaned, and hearing his name on her lips in complete ecstasy caused his own climax.

He withdrew himself from her and wrapped his arms around her tight.

“How do you feel?” he asked while rubbing his thumb on her cheek.

“Fuck, that was amazing. Is it always like that?”

“No, it’s not,” he chuckled. “Except maybe it will be with you.”

“How’s your heart feeling now?” She placed a hand on his chest.

“Completely whole. And full.” They shared a soft kiss.

Sam pulled his left arm toward her and glanced at his mark. It was now a full yin yang, matching hers on her right arm. She traced it.

“Why do you think our mark is a yin yang?”

“It’s a symbol of dualism. We are different, but in those differences, we find balance. Probably why we were matched.” He kissed her hair and sighed.

“Hm, that’s a nice way to look at things.” She kissed him deeply and cuddled in closer.


End file.
